The 2016 edition of the biennial conference of the South African IEEE, Joint Chapter on Antennas and Propagation (AP), Microwave Theory and Techniques (MTT) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), will be held in Stellenbosch, on 28 and 29 July 2016 at the Stias Conference Centre. This conference brings together engineers and researchers from industry and academia who work in fields related to AP, MTT, and EMC in South Africa. All conference contributions will be by invited presenters, including a few international, plenary speakers. Topics covered will include, but are not limited to research and development work in the areas of antennas, radar and remote sensing, the SKA radio-astronomy project, active and passive microwave devices, electromagnetic wave propagation and spectrum management, computational electromagnetic modeling, and electromagnetic compatibility. The conference is organized by the South African IEEE Joint AP/MTT/EMC Chapter and the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University. See the conference website for further details: http://www.ee.sun.ac.za/saieee2016/.

Researchers from Electrical & Electronic Engineering working on the FP7 MultiWaves project spent considerable time in Scotland and Serbia in 2012, and are expected to do the same in 2013. Stellenbosch University (SU) researchers play key roles in leading international research on global issues. Our university is one of the most successful universities taking part in the South African government’s bilateral science and technology agreements with more than 30 other countries. With the onset of the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7), SU researchers have become actively involved in the projects sponsored by the EU, most of them by invitation by leading researchers in Europe. One of the FP7 projects with which the Electrical & Electronic Department is involved, is MultiWaves. Researchers working on this project are concerned with finding solutions to the increasing demands for compact and low-cost wireless systems that operate at multiple frequency bands. According to Prof P Meyer of E&E Engineering, who is currently involved with the MultiWaves project, the funding for 2012 allowed them the equivalent of 15 (wo)man-months’ visits to Scotland and Serbia. In 2013, an additional 30 months’ overseas visits by researchers from SU will be funded. With a grant by the European Union of E90 000, plus around R500 000 from our own Department of Science & Technology, the funding for this project amounts to around R1.5m – offering our local researchers tremendous opportunities to contribute on a global level. For more information on FP7 research collaboration undertaken by SU researchers, see http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/stellenbosch-University/stellenbosch-research-2009/2010051201/35.html#35

There are some 400 postdoctoral fellows, undergraduate and postgraduate students from South Africa and other African countries whose studies have already been funded by the SKA SA Project Office since 2005. Many students have since been employed by the SKA SA team or related companies. Prof Howard Reader’s Electromagnetic Compatibility and Metrology research team in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering have had to help the civil, mechanical and electrical teams of the SKA Project Office with on-the-ground decisions about the building of KAT-7 and MeerKAT for the last number of years. Prof David Davidson, holder of the SKA research chair in Electromagnetic Systems and Electromagnetic Interference Mitigation in the SU Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, is involved in the precise placement of the dishes in the array, and matters relating to the so-called “hardware” of astronomy – the telescope and the antenna dishes. More information: http://www.ska.ac.za/download/clipping_mat_jul2012.pdf